Chasing Aliens

Lavelle’s travelogue echoes the documentaries with which Louis Theroux made his name, by inquiring into the dotty beliefs of maverick Americans … Chasing Aliens … speaks eloquently to an age in which airy nothings and weaponised lies predominate – Stuart Jeffries * Daily Telegraph *
A highly enticing … sleeper tour through “America’s superstition and conspiracy belt”. Lavelle mixes sardonic wit with genuine curiosity as he … hears about secrets that should never be made public, about an encounter near RAF Woodbridge in Rendlesham Forest in Suffolk that believers claim is “more significant than the infamous Roswell incident”, and former intelligence officer David Grusch’s revelation that the US government possesses UFOs “the size of football fields” – Martin Chilton, Non-fiction of the Month * Independent *
Should we believe that the universe is full of creatures with advanced technologies and a lively interest in the behaviour of humans? Lavelle takes this on with the wit and scepticism of a true journalist … What follows is as funny as it is strange … Lavelle amusingly and doggedly pursues the story … He concludes with a moving farewell to us and the aliens – Bryan Appleyard * Spectator *
Lavelle is careful to treat everyone he interviews with respect, being as neutral as possible in testing the evidence. Indeed, he admits that part of him wants to find proof of alien visitors – it would be the biggest journalistic scoop ever … the book’s value lies in what it reveals about the people who believe – Mark Mason * Daily Mail *
Daniel Lavelle dives headfirst into America’s UFO fever dream and comes back with something rarer than alien wreckage: clarity. Chasing Aliens is hilarious, humane and quietly devastating, a road trip through sky watches and Skinwalker Ranch that becomes a deeper reckoning with belief, loneliness and the stories we tell to make the cosmos feel less empty – Eliot Higgins, author of WE ARE BELLINGCAT
Many of us have questions about aliens. Are they real? Have they visited? Who’s covering them up? In Chasing Aliens, Daniel Lavelle tackles all of these with the relish of a believer and the diligence of a sceptic. But beyond that he answers the question that really matters: what is it we’re talking about when we’re talking about aliens? – James Ball, winner of the Pulitzer Prize
Lavelle’s quest for the truth about the UFO phenomenon involves a fascinating journey across the United States where he meets a colourful cast of characters who are at least as interesting as the UFO mystery itself. A hugely entertaining, gonzo-style examination of UFOs, ufology and ufologists – Nick Pope
A wild trip into the unknown and the surreal with Oldham’s answer to Hunter S. Thompson, except with more laughs, more heart and less bullshit. An essential book from one of the best non-fiction writers in the UK – Lanre Bakare, author of WE WERE THERE
Chasing Aliens is an exhilarating adventure into the dusty heart of American conspiracy land, where Daniel Lavelle tries to parse alien myth from government secrecy from captivating lunacy. Lavelle’s investigation is, at the same time, utterly serious and totally berserk. His rip-roaring, edge-of-your-seat narration is injected with as much serious research as there is joy, humour and intrigue. I’m recommending this book to everyone I know – Cara McGoogan, author of THE POISON LINE
With equal measures of sincerity and scepticism, Daniel Lavelle takes us into the UFO heartlands of America. But what begins as a journalistic quest for extraterrestrial evidence develops into a tender exploration of the question: are we alone? I loved going on this road trip to find ‘the little green men’ in Lavelle’s funny, heartfelt and clear-eyed book – Katie Goh, author of FOREIGN FRUIT

Daniel Lavelle is an Orwell Prize-winning freelance feature writer from Manchester. His first book, Down and Out, was published in 2022 and won a Royal Society of Literature award for non-fiction writing.

He has covered topics such as mental health, homelessness, and culture for the Guardian (for whom he co-authored the series ‘The Empty Doorway’), New Statesman, and the Independent. He received the Guardian’s Hugo Young award for an opinion piece on his experience of homelessness.

‘The Empty Doorway’ won Feature of the Year at the British Journalism Awards 2019 and was nominated for the same award at the National Press Awards 2020.

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